‘No one is talking about this’ by Patricia Lockwood is unlike anything else I have read this year, and I say that in the best possible way. Sometimes it’s good to be completely blindsided by a book.

Book prizes and best offs

I don't tend to read the blurbs of books, preferring to go in cold. I notice when others whose tastes occasionally crossover with my own mention a title, or I go with my instinct. This one popped up on a couple of 'best of' lists and it was a nominee for 'The womens prize for fiction,' and was on the long booker list, so it’s not an unknown book - I just knew nothing about Patricia Lockwood or what to expect.

The first part is about how the internet (portal) has shaped our brains. The loosely fictionalised narrator travels the world, giving talks about the portal (her most famous tweet is 'Can a dog be twin?’) The first part of ‘no one is talking about this’ is to be in the company of someone who has spent too much time on the internet, which is basically all our brains at this stage - fragmented, constantly looking a fix, drowning in useless information.

Poet

The narrator's voice is funny though sometimes it felt arch and it seemed like she was reaching for a punch line too often. The passages are brief and it often deliberately feels like you are scrolling through a twitter feed, but the writing at times is wonderfully lyrical - it was only later that I read that Patricia Lockwood is a poet and it made sense.

There is a part about Thom Yorke of Radiohead who I had thought of when reading the book because the prose at times reminded me of his own sometime ironic, synapse crackling lyrics. Douglas Copeland also came to mind at times, as did the filmmaker Adam Curtis.

Memes

I struggled with the references to memes, I’m just not internet savvy enough. To look up the references would have completely disrupted my reading of the book, ironic giving the topic. I did feel I was missing out, but at least some kind soul has taken the time to list them all here.

‘Her heart had been replaced by what happens to a bunch of seagulls when a dog comes running down the beach’

It was the second part of ‘no one is talking about this’ that really worked for me. It came as a bit of a jolt - suddenly we are out of the portal and into the bright lights of real life, and it feels real and genuine - Life is oh so fleeting.  There is still a vein of dark humour, but it often comes as a relief - there are some incredibly sad moments and there’s one funny incident that works as a release both for the Patricia Lockwood’s family and the reader. There are so many beautiful passages of writing here and I found it incredibly moving.

No one is talking about this summary

‘No one is talking about this’ is not a conventional novel nor does it had a typical narrative, but I wouldn’t let that put you off. This is a vital, life affirming piece of work that’s very much a product of it’s time but all the better for that.

There's a 2021 lyricism to this book, a freshness and a vigour that made it unlike anything else I have read this year. There’s a memoir called ‘Priestdaddy’ the I will be getting a copy of. Sometimes you don’t realise how much you need a book until you turn the last page. I took a few pictures of this book with the backdrop of a gunmetal Irish sky. Not good enough. Passing the local observatory, a picture of the backdrop of the universe itself felt more suitable.

Book review -No one is talking about this by Patrica Lockwood

210 pages, Hardcover

February 16, 2021 by Riverhead Books